Loch Henry

Clever episode... where old technology becomes the wrinkle in the story.

For a show built on the fear of new technologies and an increasingly global takeover of everyone's lives it was a brave call to base an old forgotten big story in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere.

Old technologies become the focus this time. But you still have the dystopian world view to be appalled at or present day reality in effect.

Great acting from Monica as always (an underrated actress best known for her work in W1A perhaps).

People who didn't think this was a worthy black mirror episode I think missed the point.

Evidently, creator Charlie Brooker's turned his existential anxiety inwards for this latest batch of episodes (immediately solidifying the installment as one of the most creatively audacious seasons since its inception) & so rather than expressing worry about the exterior world around him, he's inventively found a way to evolve "Black Mirror" in to something far more introspective so it's able to perfectly communicate his justifiable concerns regarding the cynicism of the content he's expected to continually make for prospective audiences in the film / TV industries.

It's a valid point, well made (in his defence) - considering the constant production of macabre material does likely contribute to societies' gradual desensitisation to inconsolable misery (something we should understandably never become accustomed to, for good reason, nor witness as frequently as we do, on screen) & therefore, I appreciate the self-aware, emotional maturity shown - in acknowledging the inadvertent detrimental consequences to feeding a particular (arguably unethical) demand, for the sole purpose of commodification & profit in a dystopian system that wrongly rewards those acts of inconsiderate selfishness.

Plus, rather than attempting to wondrously predict the future (admittedly, a reliable foresight which has transformed in to a bit of a gimmick, these days), it's also refreshing to see the executive producer gift us with something new, reflectively looking back at his own legacy with hindsight instead - to question if the price paid for success has truly been worth it.

We don't normally get that hesitation in response to mean-spiritedness... Though as this asks; maybe we should?

Hence, with "Loch Henry", he & director Sam Miller dig deep, using one genre we heavily tend to associate with controversy as a basis on which to form their argument (acting as a general example of the well-intentioned, indulging in immorality), delivering a scathing commentary, analysing the theoretically senseless damage done to every-day people by the commercialisation of exploitative true crime documentaries - in easily one of the darkest, most disturbing features ever included in the show.

A young couple return to his family home in a remote, sleepy Scottish village, a village that hides a secret, a secret his girlfriend is keen to expose in a documentary.

I'll go so far as to say this is best thing I've seen so far this year, this was classic Black Mirror. Initially you may be thinking you're watching a straight up mystery thriller, wondering exactly where The Black Mirror element is, but trust me it comes, and just to remember that Black Mirror has always been about a terrifying insight into the future, and for Davis, that's exactly what it is.

The story was so wonderfully macabre and twisted, the first half is measured, but builds well, the last twenty minutes were off the scale, that was some climax.

The music was great, it was well produced as you'd expect. It really did have a sort of classic feel to it.

The acting was so good, Myha'la Herrold, Samuel Blenkin and John Hannah were spot on, Monica Dolan however, whenever I see her name appear, I know what I'm about to watch will be good. Trouble is I'm so accustomed to her stealing the show, and I now except it, and guess what, that's exactly what she does, again, she is phenomenal.

I absolutely loved it, the best for a while.

10/10.

Honestly this was a really welcome episode. I'm glad to see that Brooker has not turned his back on writing dark tales that don't need to rely on future technology or dystopian sci-fi to feel relevant. There is more than enough "commentary" in here the ethics of true crime content and money hungry streaming services just to name a few. No complaints with any of the actors or performances in this episode and it was great to see BM returning to a UK based epsiode, made me nostalgic for the Channel 4 years.

I think a lot of reviewers on here have missed some crucial points in this episode. Many are complaining that there was no technology based element to this episode which I find ridiculous. The technology was there and it was key to the plot, it was simply analogue technology rather than futuristic technology. It was the characters discovering tapes and digitising them (making use of once futuristic technology and bringing it in to the contemporary) that led to the whole secret being uncovered.

Honestly I find it confusing that people clearly missed the point with this one.

And there's even reviewers on here complaining that the ending was confusing? If you found this episode confusing I don't think Black Mirror is the show for you. Clearly.

Black Mirror came back after a long time. I started off with this episode and I don't know, I remember the essence of Black Mirror to be portraying the negative influence and manipulating nature of cutting edge technology. If it's anything, this episode strayed far from the prime essence but the episode in a stand alone sense was good. Well-written characters, the twist was a tad obvious but the actors that played the role was really convincing. The menace part was the twist itself and it did send a chill down the spine.

But again, the essence of Black Mirror was absent and that is what disappointed me in this episode.